AMALGAMATED THREADS

Couturier Ashdeen Z. Lilaowala traces the history and legacy of the exquisite Parsi Gara, drawing attention to its special motifs and techniques. In a Bazaar India exclusive, he opens the album of his ancestors for this special essay.

- Ashdeen Z. Lilaowala

While my keen interest in the Parsi Gara has been unwavering since childhood, as I was deeply influenced by my textile loving mother, I formally began working with the Parsi Gara as a textile design student at NID. After graduating, I travelled across India, China, and Iran with the UNESCO Parzor Foundation, documenting the Gara. The evolution of the Gara mirrors the journey of India's small yet enterprising Parsi community that I belong to.

The Parsis are Zoroastrians (followers of the Persian prophet Zarathustra) who migrated to India from Persia (modern-day, Iran) to avoid religious persecution in the 7th century CE. They first arrived in Gujarat and eventually settled along the west coast of India. The Gara or Garo refers to what the sari is called in Gujarati which is the community's adopted tongue.

Much like the Parsi community itself, the Parsi Gara embroidery tradition is an amalgamation of various textile traditions including Chinese, Persian, European, and Indian. It was the community's trade and travels that led to the origin and evolution of this storied craft. By the early 19th century, Parsi traders had begun travelling to the Far East, in China and Hong Kong, for trade. When they returned on their ships, they brought back beautiful Chinese artefacts, including ceramics, antiques, and richly embroidered textiles.